Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Estimated annual CGL premium
$2,484
Base premium (rate × exposure)
$2,160
After loss history adjustment
$2,160
Effective cost per $1,000 exposure
$2.07
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How to use this
- 1Enter annual exposure (revenue or payroll) ($).
- 2Enter rating unit ($).
- 3Enter class rate per unit ($).
- 4Enter loss history / experience factor.
- 5Enter increased limits factor.
- 6Read your estimated annual cgl premium on the right — it updates as you type.
- 7Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Commercial general liability premium is typically rated on an exposure basis — most often revenue (per $1,000 of gross sales) for retail and service businesses, or payroll for contractors and manufacturers. The insurer applies a base rate per unit of exposure, then adjusts with an experience or loss-history factor, and adds any increased-limits factor if you're buying more than the standard $1M/$2M aggregate limits. This calculator lets you pick the exposure basis, apply the class rate, and layer on the increased-limits factor so you can compare a standard limits quote against a higher-limits quote for the same underlying exposure.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Annual exposure (revenue or payroll): 1200000 $
- Rating unit: 1000 $
- Class rate per unit: 1.8 $
- Loss history / experience factor: 1
- Increased limits factor: 1.15
Results
- Estimated annual CGL premium: $2,484
- Base premium (rate × exposure): $2,160
- After loss history adjustment: $2,160
- Effective cost per $1,000 exposure: $2.07
What each field means
Inputs
- Annual exposure (revenue or payroll) ($)
- The annual exposure (revenue or payroll) used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 1200000 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Rating unit ($)
- The rating unit used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 1000 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Class rate per unit ($)
- The class rate per unit used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 1.8 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Loss history / experience factor
- The loss history / experience factor used in the calculation. Starts at 1 so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0.5–2.
- Increased limits factor
- The increased limits factor used in the calculation. Starts at 1.15 so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 1–3.
Results
- Estimated annual CGL premium
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Base premium (rate × exposure)
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- After loss history adjustment
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Effective cost per $1,000 exposure
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Why is CGL sometimes rated on revenue and sometimes on payroll?
The rating basis is chosen to match how liability risk actually scales for that class of business. A retail store's liability exposure grows with foot traffic and sales volume, so revenue is the better proxy. A contractor's exposure grows with labor hours on job sites, so payroll fits better. ISO class code tables specify which basis applies to each classification.
What is an increased limits factor (ILF)?
Base CGL rates are built around a standard limit, commonly $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate. If you need higher limits — say $2M/$4M for a contract requirement — the insurer applies an ILF above 1.0 because higher limits mean more exposure to large claims, though not a linear 2x increase since big claims are less frequent than small ones.
What's excluded from a standard CGL policy?
Professional errors (need E&O/professional liability), employee injuries (need workers' comp), auto accidents (need commercial auto), and pollution or cyber incidents (need separate endorsements or standalone policies). CGL covers third-party bodily injury, property damage, and personal/advertising injury arising from your operations or premises.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Commercial General Liability (CGL) Premium Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/commercial-general-liability-rate
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/commercial-general-liability-rate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Commercial General Liability (CGL) Premium Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Commercial General Liability (CGL) Premium Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/commercial-general-liability-rate) (2026).